Man Of Steal Delivers

Superman Jordan Pulls Bulls Through

The previous evening, Jordan was the scapegoat in the Bulls' ugliest loss of the season, getting the ball stripped by Seattle's Gary Payton in the waning seconds of a close game.

But, as fate would have it, Jordan found himself on the opposite end of a similar play Monday. He was the one to come up with the key steal in the closing seconds, ending a wild affair at the Rose Garden with one of his patented slams as the Bulls snapped their brief losing streak at one with a 107-104 victory over the Trail Blazers in front of 21,401 baffled fans.

But the situation Monday was amazingly similar to the situation Sunday in Seattle.

The Bulls (11-2) had again squandered a double-digit lead that they had built in the third quarter. They entered the final period up 81-68, and there was a lot of whooping and hollering on the Bulls' bench. They were having all kinds of fun. Then disaster hit.

"The reversal of fortunes were dramatic, to say the least," Jackson said.

That's because the Blazers (6-7) scored a season-high 36 points in the fourth quarter. Portland, which trailed 85-70 two minutes into the final period after a Jordan (33 points, eight assists) jumper, went on an amazing run, closing to within 100-97 with 4:03 left when Rod Strickland (22 points, eight assists) scored on a layup.

On the Bulls' next possession, with 3:46 to go, Cliff Robinson stepped in front of a Jordan pass to Scottie Pippen. In the scuffle for the ball, Robinson was able to call a 20-second timeout. When play resumed, Robinson hit a jumper to pull the Blazers to within 100-99.

Pippen gave the Bulls a 102-99 advantage on a jumper with 3:12 left, but Arvydas Sabonis--the 7-foot-3-inch center the Blazers waited nine years to get into a Portland uniform--hit a three-pointer to cap his career-high 23-point performance. The score was tied 102-102 at the 2:53 mark.

Things got dramatic the rest of the way. Luc Longley split a pair of free throws to give the Bulls a 103-102 lead with 2:31 left. When Gary Trent forced a shot on the Blazers' next trip up the floor, the Bulls tried to improve on their lead. But, with 1:51 left, Strickland stole the ball from Pippen and scored and the Blazers were up 104-103.

Pippen threw the ball away on the Bulls's next possession, but then stole the ball from Robinson.

Jordan missed a jumper, Robinson missed a three-pointer and then the Bulls took a 105-104 lead on an inbounds play when Pippen broke free for a pass from Toni Kukoc and got the ball to Jordan for a basket with :27 left.

When Strickland missed a layup, Jordan and Buck Williams struggled for the rebound, but the ball went off Williams and out of bounds with :13.6 left. Bulls' ball. Was it over? No, Pippen was called for "5 seconds" while trying to inbound the ball.

"I've had Scottie Pippen out of bounds maybe 250 to 500 times over the course of my seven-year coaching career and I've never had him get a 5-second call," Jackson said. "I'll be counting that one out as I watch the tape."

That's when the Blazers got the ball into Sabonis and Jordan stole the ball. He went the length of the court for the slam for the win. Portland's Aaron McKie missed a three-pointer as time expired.

"We had control of the game and then kind of let it slip away," Pippen said. "But we maintained and stayed in there until Michael came up with the big play down the stretch and ripped the ball away from Sabonis."